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“The situation seems eerily similar to the Edward Snowden leak, and has drawn renewed attention to insider threats and the risks posed by authorized users granted access to sensitive information in corporate networks.

…While insider attacks and leaks of sensitive data from the NSA make for very salacious headlines, insider threats are in no way limited to the NSA or government agencies. Every company has some information and data of a sensitive nature that should not be shared or seen outside the company, and every company faces the risk that an employee with access to that data could expose it—either intentionally or inadvertently.”

“The arrest of a National Security Agency contractor charged with stealing highly classified material is yet the latest example of a trend that officials say can be every bit as dangerous as an outside hacker: the insider threat.

…insider threats pose a delicate and difficult challenge and can be hard to detect, especially since large amounts of data can be downloaded quickly and stored on tiny devices.”

“Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Martin’s arrest made it ‘painfully clear that the Intelligence Community still has much to do to institutionalize reforms designed to protect in advance the nation’s sources and methods from insider threats.'”

“The scope, frequency and severity of hacks have increased with every passing year. One of the driving factors behind this, say security experts is a new corporatization and professionalism of hackers. …

‘The stealing of corporate meetings and notes to get a competitive advantage is ridiculously real,’ Barone added, ‘They’re stealing blueprints, because they want to see where this company is going to build next and what their security infrastructure looks like behind it.
…
Law firms, designers, factories, anyone who can have potentially valuable information can be a target.”

“Shodan, a search engine for the Internet of Things (IoT), recently launched a new section that lets users easily browse vulnerable webcams.”

“The cameras are vulnerable because they use the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP, port 554) to share video but have no password authentication in place.”

“The consumers are saying ‘we’re not supposed to know anything about this stuff [cybersecurity],” he said. “The vendors don’t want to lift a finger to help users because it costs them money.”

“The bigger picture here is not just personal privacy, but the security of IoT devices,” security researcher Scott Erven told Ars Technica UK. “As we expand that connectivity, when we get into systems that affect public safety and human life—medical devices, the automotive space, critical infrastructure—the consequences of failure are higher than something as shocking as a Shodan webcam peering into the baby’s crib.”

“This is not the first security vulnerability from Google’s sister company, Nest, and its first child, the Nest Learning Thermostat. Last year we reported on a 15-second USB hack that would give hackers full remote controls and access to information on the daily whereabouts of owners.”

“Even with these findings Grover considered Nest’s Thermostat to be “one of the more secure devices” in his test. It is not the sort of title that would instill confidence in the security of our future technology.”

Gigavation

Gigavation develops cybersecurity technologies for consumers, corporations, and public-sector. Its solutions secure computers, mobile devices, networks, and industrial control systems against attacks and data loss. Gigavation was founded by MIT and Harvard graduates.

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